Ronan, Whitefish runners go 1-2 at conference meet
The Daily Inter Lake
PABLO - The Ronan boys and girls team took first place at the Northwestern A Conference cross country meet Saturday, scoring 31 and 29 points respectively.
Terinee McCready (18:16) and Michael Fisher (15:44), both from Ronan, took top individual honors for their run at the Silver Fox Golf Course.
"They are both at the top of their game right now," Ronan coach Gale Decker said of McCready and Fisher. "They will be in the mix for the individual title (at state).
"I thought our boys ran a little bit better than I expected today. We're aiming for next weekend, to up it a notch."
McCready beat out Bigfork's state champ Brooke Andrus by 47 seconds. Andrus has been hampered the past couple of weeks with an ankle injury, but she should be ready for state.
Whitefish placed second in both the boys and girls team totals with 55 and 47 points, a big improvement over last year's fifth and third-place finishes.
"We were happy with where we were, solidly in second," Whitefish coach Bill Brist said.
Bulldog runner Beth Donovan managed to place fourth even though she had to stop and get a bee out of her shoe. She was stung twice in the ankle.
Cassie Schell ran an inspirational race and placed 19th for Whitefish. Schell dropped out in the second week of the season because of a stress fracture in her foot.
"We were happy to have her back," Brist said. "For her to run 21:58 on that course was a great race."
Ian Mallams and Drew Coco led the Bulldogs with third and fourth-place finishes. A pack of Whitefish runners came in at 15, 16, 17 and 19.
"I knew we would have a good team score when I saw that massive finish for our runners," Brist said.
For Columbia Falls, the boys and girls each placed fourth. Brian Merseal was the Wildcats' top runner, placing fifth with a time of 16:46.
"Merseal ran a fabulous race," Columbia Falls boys coach Richard Menicke said.
"He ran intelligent and strong. I'm really proud of his accomplishment."
Tripp Gimbal also ran a gutsy race. He and Merseal both ran personal bests, beating previous times by more than 30 seconds.
Five of Columbia Falls' seven runners ran lifetime bests. This was the fastest team run of the year.
"We're right where we want to be," Menicke said. I'm very proud of the team."
This was the best team race for the girls, but coach Steven Gasche believes his Wildkats have an even better race in them.
Freshman Nikki Elek was the top finisher for the Wildkats with a 21:45. Elek was the first girl on her team to break 22 minutes this year.
The state Class A cross country meet takes place next week at the University of Montana's golf course.
Boys
Team Totals
Ronan 31, Whitefish 55, Polson 80, Columbia Falls 90, Libby 108
Top 15
15:44 Michael Fisher, Ronan
15:54 Logan Torgison, Polson
16:29 Ian Mallams, Whitefish
16:41 Drew Coco, Whitefish
16:46 Brian Merseal, Columbia Falls
16:48 Andrew Graham, Ronan
16:51 Buddy Cheff, Ronan
17:04 Cameron Barber, Ronan
17:07 Erick Stedje, Ronan
17:08 Charley May, Libby
17:13 Kevin Love, Polson
17:26 Tripp Gimbal, Columbia Falls
17:31 Wes Hill, Bigfork
17:38 Tim McCracken, Columbia Falls
17:43 Kellen Bodily, Whitefish
Also
Whitefish - 17:43 Blake Bjornson, 17:44 Jacob Fern, 17:48 Alexander Joseph, 18:12 Erik Anderson
Columbia Falls - 18:17 Michael Taylor, 18:52 Jack Scherman, 20:25 Jeremiah Howland
Bigfork - 18:42 Julain Taylor, 19:42 Zeph Casias
Libby - 17:49 Seth Wright, 18:05 Jeremy Brothers, 18:09 Caleb Swartzendruber,18:42 Andrew Elliot, 19:14 Tyler Brothers, 27:30 Pat Wood
Polson - 17:49 Chris Ogle, 18:00 RJ Dalke, 18:05 Nathan Poukish, 18:32 Keegan Bowen, 18:50 Tanner Tompkins
Ronan - 17:45 Justin Grandon, 19:22 Sterling Green
Girls
Ronan 29, Whitefish 47, Polson 92, Columbia Falls 119
Top 15
18:16 Terinee McCready, Ronan
19:03 Brooke Andrus, Bigfork
19:35 Sadie McMillan, Ronan
20:03 Beth Donovan, Whitefish
20:28 Briana Malmquist, Ronan
20:32 Kaneesha Benson, Ronan
20:46 Clare Miller, Whitefish
20:49 Natesha Arlint, Polson
20:51 Tina McLinden, Libby
20:59 Kali Cook, Polson
21:17 Lauren Kuennen, Whitefish
21:18 Janna Rozar, Whitefish
21:21 Anne Dancsyk, Whitefish
21:23 Christa Salomon, Ronan
21:38 Brittany Hall, Bigfork
Also
Whitefish - 21:51 Loie Russell-Templeton, 22:39 Natalie Kearns,
Columbia Falls - 21:45 Nikki Elek, 22:24 Addie Houle, 22:33 Jessica Dedman, 23:14 Chelsey Marjerrison, 23:23 Britney Mickelson, 23:45 Nellie Lutz, 24:27 Jennifer Hafferman
Bigfork - 23:46 Jamie Morgenstern, 24:15 Stephanie Williams
Libby - 21:55 Rachel Morrow, 24:19 Kara Howard, 38:26 Jasmine Allen
Polson - 22:24 Emily Pyles, 22:44 Kelsie Delaney, 23:02 Heidi Hunsucker, 23:18 Tanna Bull
Ronan - 22:17 Kelsey Salomon, 22:59 Ali Anderson